Down in Africa #2

Serious photographing continued during the following days. Most of the pictures below are from Khwai river waterfront and its nearby areas.
There animals are living their lives in piece under the burning African sun. Elephants and hippos were evidently enjoying playing in the water.
Days went by fast watching and photographing. Every day and every moment was wonderful and unforgettable. It is unbelievable how much wild nature and its animals can give you!

 

Red Lechwes enjoying verdant coolness                     

 

 

 

   

It takes two to tango, Marabou Storks

                                                                                      

 

African Fish-Eagle in action

                                                                                     

 

   

Steenbok

                                                                                                                        

 

  

 

Something is very annoying

                                                                                        

   

Ground Hornbill

                                                                                                          

  

  

  

  

   

Great White Egret

                                                                                                         

  

  

  

  

  

 

Soon it will be starry sky and more pics to come...                                                                                 

Olli                                                                                                                                                   

Down in Africa

                                  

I had dreamed many years of an African safari. Two years ago I heard that should I plan a safari do it to Botswana. Then in September this year I had an opportunity to travel to Africa. My good friend Antero Topp organised a trip to Botswana and fortunately I was with.
The local coop company in Botswana was Classified Safaris which organised everything just perfectly. Driving was safe and we found lots of animals and amazingly our dinners in the bushes were gourmet experiences. The owner Spokes Ntshwabi was a Great man. He is an intellect and a true nature lover with a good sense of humour.  The safari started from Kasane and ended ten days later in Maun. We experienced in Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve a breathtaking adventure in the middle of African wilds.

 We spent daytime in open jeeps in heat like 45° celsius or 110° Fahrenheit in shade and cool nights in tents among all those wild animals. It was amazing how many different kinds of animals we saw; all together 210 species of birds and 35 species of mammals and 4 different kinds of reptiles.

After all those unforgettable memories there is one thing that bothers me, when my thoughts go back to Africa, it´s poaching. That´s a dark shadow over Africa! In Botswana poaching is not a big issue yet, but in neighbouring countries like South Africa and Tanzania it is a huge problem. Poachers are killing an elephant every fifteen minutes!! That is one hundred elephants per day!! That is unbelievable. One rhino is killed every seven hours. It won´t take long when estimated less than half a million elephants and 35000 rhinos will be extinct! What is Africa then?

First days in Botswana we were driving zigzag in Chobe Riverfront area. The quantity of animals was incredible. Packs of zebras, elephants and different kinds of antelopes moved on the savannah. The landscape was very variable including woods, water and savannah. It was dry season and many trees had fallen all their leaves and in some places there was really dusty. First safari nights in Chobe were wild with all those loud animal voices. Elephants and hyenas were wandering in our camp during first nights. Days were relaxed with lots and lots of photographing!
 

 

  

In Savute area while we were looking for lions three young male lions arrived in our camp. The camp staff were there preparing lunch and watching. Because staff run in to their tents became lions interested of them and they started sniffing around tents. The staff was really scared but finally nothing serious happened, just a ripped tent coverbag.
In Moremi by Third Bridge we encountered African wild dogs or maybe better known as Hyena dogs. This rare creature is hated among local people and hunters. In my eyes it is very beautiful, playful and funny, very much the domestic dog like. 

 

 

                                                        Nesting Tawny Eagle couple

 

 

                                                         Red-billed Woodhoopoe

 

Souther Carmine Bee-eater 

 

 

 

  

 

Lilac-breasted Roller 

Soon the night falls but this story continues...                                                                                  

Olli                                                                                                                                                    

Black Grouse Lek

I was standing and listening on a top of a snowy hill. Sun would rise in half an hour and nature was still completely silent. In the horizon there was a promising element of light, the new day was breaking through. I had skied in the darkness half a kilometer from my car, then stopped to listen. The skiing in seventy-five centimeter (two and a half feet) deep snow was so hard that I had to wait for a while for my breath to become steady only then could I listen to anything. The morning was calm and clear, in such circumstances it´s possible to hear Black grouse lek even from four kilometers distance. I listened attentively but only heard distant sounds of a Black woodpecker and as usual some ravens. I knew somewhere nearby there would be a lekking site. Leks always take place at open areas such as fields and swamps. I kept on skiing in unbroken deep snow and at the same time tried to hear some lekking sounds. Those particular sounds are continuous bubbling vocalisation and guttural hiss, they are very important elements of the lek. I was heading to a snow covered meadow which was likely to be the display site. Quite soon, just after sunrise, I heard those familiar sounds. I skied a little bit closer and sat down to wait for the show to be over so I could mount my hide there for the next morning. In an hour it  was over and all the birds had flown away. I continued closer into the edge of the woods into dense bushes and found a perfect spot for my tent hide. Next morning with the aid of the darkness I would be back well before Black grouses.

That next morning was cloudy and misty. During the night the temperature had dropped below freezing point and due to the warm day it caused mist. But once again you can´t choose the weather and it´s always challenging to photograph in different situations. I waited anxiously for the birds to arrive and then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, they were there!
The lek was absolutely stunning with all those sounds and posturing, jumping and fighting. The males spread their long, curving, black tail feathers into wide, imposing fans. At the same time the females were sitting on the tree tops and enjoying the show just like me.

In the third morning the weather was much better, temperature just over freezing point and partly cloudy skies. Beautiful morning, fantastic light and the lek on its full!!

Such magnificent mornings at Kuntivaara in Kuusamo. I felt so pleased, packed my gears and stuff and skied back to my car via a small lake, which was only partly ice covered because of the flowing waters. Whooper swans had found that open water spot and I took advantage and shot some photos. 

                                                                       Olli